Silent Shadows
by NightbringerX
Summary: Shade's never had it easy, well being a career thief can make life a bit challenging. But what happens when the Titans take notice, and when he takes notice of certain a certain empath. Can he steal her affections, or will Slade get to him first, and get the apprentice he always wanted ..
1. Night at the Museum

**Another story to work on, and I've had this buzzing around my head for some time now. Remember as always to comment favorite and follow.**

_"When your younger the teacher always asks what are you going to be when you get older? Now some people will say firemen or police officers, hell maybe a doctor or a superhero. Boring right? Me I decided from a young age there were more interesting career opportunities for someone of my skills."_

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_**A Night at The Museum **_

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"So what? Were just going stand here and guard a bunch of gems from what? The Air?" the guard asked his friend while he was leaning against the wall near the Egyptian display at the museum.

His friend put a hand to his temple, "No were guarding it from thieves." he reiterated only to have his friend roll his eyes as he walked forward, "What don't like being a security guard?" he asked a little in surprise.

"Not when every single thief in this damned city has superpowers!" he shouted, "They want this shit guarded, get the Titans to do it!" he shouted fed up with Jump City when they both heard footsteps from the left only to see a figure dressed in a black cloth outfit with darkened leather strips and a vest arranged in a patchwork like a suit, his head was covered by a hood and cowl making his blue eyes illuminate.

The officers friend drew his gun aiming it at him, "Freeze!" he screamed noticing the calm demeanor of the figure, only to be surprised by a teen's voice.

"You know I have to disagree with your friend." he stated gesturing with his head towards the bored guard.

"How so?"

"People with powers really do make up the criminal population in this city, but the Titans wouldn't make a difference now." he stated calmly walking forward as the other guard drew his gun.

"Why you got powers?" he pulled the hammer back on his pistol.

The teen chuckled, "Oh no. Hehehe, the very idea I have powers, that's to funny my guard." he kept laughing quietly as the guard on his left advanced forward.

"What's your name son?" he asked as he placed a hand on the teens left wrist the boy's hand shot over moving the guards arm forcing it to the side as he ducked under moving gun and twisted it behind his back. Taking the opportunity he forced the gun from the guard arming himself and flipped the guard face to face with his friend, the gun was pointed at his temple, his free hand in his pocket grabbing his wallet.

"The names Shade, now were going to play this my way, or your brains can be on the wall. Your choice buddy." he stated pulling the wallet out of his pocket and putting it into his.

The guard took a step back tightening a grip on his gun, "Your not going to kill him, put the gun down and stand down." he commanded.

"You know what that one phrase stand down has just shown me the errors of my ways." he stated mockingly as the guard frowned.

"John help me." the struggling guard pleaded as he nodded.

"Touching." Shade simply put as he quickly turned the gun firing at the officers. It struck it at the side knocking it from his grip as he followed by turning the pistol around and slamming the one he held in the back of his head knocking him out. "Now." he told himself as he rushed the stunned guard delivering a solid punch to his stomach making the guard lurch forward as he grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the wall knocking him out.

He released the guard from his grip as he watched him slide to the ground with a groan, "They get dumber and dumber all the time..." he stated to himself as he walked over to the case seeing the large jeweled necklace, probably worth a small fortune to the right bidder, or a good trophy to a bored thief. "Next time I gotta remember to remove museum from the hat, I've already hit this place like 5 times." truly this place wasn't worth his time anymore. Still he wasn't going to leave empty-handed as he removed a lock pick from a pocket at his side, and in a few moments opened the case collecting his prize as he held it up. "I have the greatest job." he smiled as twirled by its chain turning around to leave when he almost forgot, "Oh yeah.' he turned to the guard unconscious by the wall, "Got anything good for me?" he asked walking over to the groaning man as he reached his pocket finding no wallet, but a few hundred-dollar bills. He shook his head, "Dumber and dumber all the time." and with that he turned and left deciding he'd walk out the front door as he started to whistle.

"Actually..." he stopped in front of the door, "Wonder would happen if a Titan tried to stop me." he shrugged, "Be better than being asked out by Jinx, again." he remembered how she does not take not interested for an answer or how he works independently.

"Freeze!" his thoughts were interrupted by the stream of guards surging towards him, weapons drawn, and an angry look on all there faces.

"Time to go." he thought as he bolted for the door, gunfire followed behind. He speed up as he slammed open the front door, thankful that's how he had entered as he looked around for a path to take only to be startled by the sound of a ricochet near his head, "Damn their aims improving." he looked at the outdoor café in front, well more namely the awning over the door.

He ran through the street as cars slammed on their breaks being rear-ended from behind, "Asshole!" a random driver shouted, but he didn't care, he had an escape to follow through on as he reached the outdoor café and jumped on a table hoping across as he sprung off the last table onto the awning as he hoisted himself up onto it.

"He's got nowhere to go!" he looked up to see the guards all gathered in front of the awning weapons all aimed for him as he put the jeweled necklace on over his neck, his hands shot for his pockets grabbing two small balls.

"Gentleman it's been a fun night! But I really must be off now!" he finished as he jumped up and launched himself using the awning like a trampoline. He went high avoiding gunfire as he tossed the balls watching them shatter in the crowd releasing a green gas.

"What the!" one shouted as he started coughing, followed by the others as they started dropping like flies. They were no match for sleeping gas as Shade used the momentum from his second jump to launch himself over the guards landing behind them with a roll. He turned to the crowd of unconscious guards and laughed as he ran to a nearby building and scaled the fire escape to the building's roof.

"Too easy!" he gloated as he reached the roof, "Next tim-" his phone went off at his side as he pulled it out, "Unknown... Figures." he stated as he pressed the screen answering the call and brought it up to his ear, "You've reached me on my day off. What do you want." he asked in his usual sarcastic manner as he waited for a response.

"A tad unprofessional aren't we Shade..." the voice chilled him for some reason.

"Who is this?" he asked confused, he was advertised a little, but this person didn't sound like his usual clients.

"In this game when do we ever give names." the man replied.

"Right. Still what do you have for me?" he asked.

"A job, why else would I call you?" the man responded annoyed.

"I need more than that." he stated pulling down his hood and dragging a hand through his short black hair.

"Let me be clear. I require your services to infiltrate the Titans Tower and plant something in their Main Ops room, I can promise you 5,000 for completion, and a bonus if you can deliver a personal message to Robin himself." the man concluded.

"Yeah, the money's good, but you want me to break into their tower, plant something in their Op's room and wake Robin up?" he stated almost baffled. It would be a challenge, but if he was awake he'd have to deal with the Titans while escaping.

The man scoffed, "And here I thought you were the best-"

"I am!" he interrupted, he wouldn't be called second rate. "I accept."

"Good." the package will be under the bridge to their island tomorrow at 2:00 am, you'll have thirty minutes to plant it in his room."

"Wait I don't kill." he warned as the man laughed.

"Don't worry. I don't plan on killing the boy wonder, let's just say I want to shatter his security." the man replied calmly, almost eerily so.

Shade almost was afraid to ask this last part, "What's the message though?"

"After you plant the package in Main Op room, go into Robin's room and tell him." the voice paused, "You will never be rid of me."


	2. Moonlight Saboteur

**This one was just plain fun to write and has me excited, also remember as always to comment, favorite, and follow. People also remember critiscm is accepted, also just generally what you think. Reviews boost my confidence. The ending to this one as well, I was outta steam, but I really wanted this up.**

**Also to the layout of the tower note I have actually looked up the specs and layout, but if something doesn't make sense with lower levels well I'm writin so yeah.**

**TheBeatles141: Love the review now here's my answers, yeah Shade is my creation and i'm glad you like his nonlethal nature. Also it makes me light up knowing you enjoy the storyline and the character and it encourages me to continue.**

**Spyro395: Thanks glad to know you like it.**

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_**Chapter 2: Moonlight Saboteur**_

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The night came fast making the day almost a blur for Shade as he found himself on the bridge to Titan island, the moon was high above casting an iridescent glow over the water, and even better shrouding him in the shadows. He walked down the bridge looking for any sign of package when he noticed a small card taped to the arch a few feet in front of him. "X marks the spot." he mused as he grabbed the card noticing the orange and black S, "Or correction, S marks the spot." he joked as he moved to the edge of the bridge as he kneeled down and peered under.

There suspended by a small rope was a silver compact briefcase which he quickly hauled up noticing the note on the briefcase.

_The case needs to be activated the second you put it the ops room, simply state Activation S-11-1-D-5 and don't forget to tell the boy wonder what I told you. I will be watching, and I will contact you after it is done._

This guy already creeped him out, but, "A jobs a job." he recited to himself, he couldn't name it, but their was something else; his voice was familiar.

His gaze now shifted towards the tower as he quickly thought about the best possible way to enter. He knew there'd be heavy camera surveillance and the odds of him not being on camera already were slim, but thankfully the most they could see was his eyes, but he had two choices, "I could climb, or use the front door." he murmured as he debated mentally. "I'll just take the front door." he decided as he simply strolled up to the front door before he stopped looking at the kind of lock. "Ha. It's a keycard lock." he chuckled as he reached into his pocket drawing a yellow black striped card. "Thank you Gizmo." he thought with a smile as he swiped the card through the scanner as he heard the door unlock, "Gizmo is absolutely annoying, but he has decent tech." he thought as he quickly placed it back in his pocket as he pushed the door open.

As he entered he quickly looked to his side noticing the cameras already on him, "Luckily camera detection shouldn't be a problem here, I just can't wake the Titans." he stated quietly to himself knowing he wouldn't trip any sensors since his entrance would be marked as if someone had just come home. He walked down the narrow hallway passing by the various couches and chairs as he just looked around trying to find his way up when he finally noticed the elevator at the end, "Duh..." he thought as he pressed the button at its side as the door slid open.

He stepped inside as a thought quickly crossed his mind "Actually now that I think of it, the museum the other night had better security." he chuckled quietly as he looked at the labeled buttons inside, "Way to easy." he pressed the button for the Op's room as he felt the elevator ascend quickly. He was surprised when the doors opened only a moment later depositing him into the Titans living room, "Okay where to plant an unassuming case..." he thought about it for a moment when he finally decided near the T.V was probably best. As started to move through the room he noticed there was a ton of food, and bead necklaces around, "What were they celebrating?" he thought as he quickly found his answer on a nearby banner, **Happy Blorthog! **"Suddenly so many questions?" he thought as he shrugged it off, he had a job to do and he could sight-see later.

He continued on as he crouched in front of the T.V as he recited the code, "S-11-1-D-5." he finished as a computerized voice went off.

"Pass-code accepted, 30 minutes to activation of Electromagnetic pulse." it finished as he stood up satisfied, but suddenly curious as he looked around the room before noticing the large plate of cookies on the counter as his stomach rumbled, he had skipped dinner, but luckily there was some food here ready to eat as he walked up to it. "I wonder why it's barely touched?" he thought grabbing one as he pulled down his cowl with the other hand. He quickly stuffed the cookie in his mouth as he suddenly felt his stomach drop, "Oh god..." he whispered as pieces of cookie fell out of his mouth. He lurched over as he threw up on the floor, quickly he ran to the sink as he repeated the process a few more times as he took a deep hoarse breath. "No human could eat that." he said to no one as his throat burned.

"Who's there?" he hit the ground as he peered over the counter seeing Beast Boy. "Anyone out here?!" he asked a lot louder.

Shade cursed under his breath, "Goddamn it. He'll ruin this entire job." he thought watching him turn into a bloodhound as he raised his nose towards Shade or what was more likely the puke.

The dog morphed back into the boy as he stood up, "Who ate Star's cooking?" Beast Boy stated as he walked towards the counter as he heard the sound of wet carpet as he looked down realizing he had stepping in warm vomit, "Gross! Gross! Gross!" he whined as he ran off for the bathroom.

"First time it's ever payed to get sick." he smiled weakly as he raised his cowl back up over his mouth and nose, "Never again will I just grab food on a job." as he looked to where Beast Boy had run off to. He figured he ran off towards the rooms as he followed behind arriving in a long corridor lined with rooms, "Now which is..." before he could finish he heard a door open off behind him as he dashed to the nearest door and entered. He looked around at his surroundings as he noticed the wardrobe on the other side as he crept over and entered, just in time to as the door opened revealing Beast Boy.

"Are you in here!" the door opened as soon as he entered as he recognized the boy's voice from the living room.

"Beast Boy get out of my room." he heard the girl state in a way that chilled his blood.

"Raven I heard a noise-"

"And your response was to barge into my room?" her voice impassive, but dangerous.

"Well when you say it like that."

"If you want to live let me sleep." she sounded serious now as Beast Boy chuckled nervously as he walked out.

Shade shrugged, "Time is of the essence woman, so go back to sleep!" he thought as he cracked the door to the wardrobe seeing she had laid back down, but obviously wasn't close to falling back asleep. Frustrated he crouched down silently examining the belt he had taken, "Curious thing..." he murmured as he played with the ovaline gems. It didn't look like it was worth much, but he turned around noticing the small runic letters around the edges, "Could lead to something much more valuable." still he stuffed it into his pocket as he sat and waited.

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_25 minutes later_

Shade sat bored out of his mind as he checked out of the small crack again seeing the goth had yet to move, "Finally..." he thought annoyed as he crept silently through her room and to the door before he stopped and turned back, "Thanks for the belt." he whispered before finally leaving his temporary prison.

As he reentered the hallway he quickly looked around making sure their weren't any Titans creeping around as he tried to figure out where Robin's room was as he just decided to try the door at the end of the hall as he silently crept down the hallway quickly arriving at the door as he crossed his fingers in hope. The door opened revealing a plain almost office styled room with the Titan leader sound asleep on his bed giving Shade a quick smile, "Good to see my luck holds." he thought as he crept silently inside.

Now came the fun part to wake Robin and give him a message, "Now how to do... Oh hello?" his thoughts changed seeing the keys next to Robins bed as he grabbed them, "Got my way out now." he knew from watching the Titans that this was probably to his cycle, and who says a joyride wouldn't be fun. "Still." his gaze was now on Robins sleeping form when an idea struck as he took a deep breath, "WAKE UP ROBIN!" he screamed as the boy wonder sprang to life.

"Who's attacking!" he demanded still tired as he realized it wasn't a Titan who had woken him. He quickly faced Shade, but he was only able to see his blue eyes, "Who are you and how did you get in here?!" Robin demanded waiting for an attack.

Shade tilted his head, "Where to start? I walked through the front door, and i'm no one important." he stated taking a step back towards the door as Robin was suddenly on edge, "I'm what would you say... thief, criminal, scum? However one of you self-proclaimed hero's would state it." he ended with a slight grin that Robin could tell he had.

"Here to steal then?" Robin stated jumping out of bed and grabbing his bow staff from his side.

"Not tonight, well maybe a few things as I was walking through." he added coyly knowing it be fun to tick him off as he approached the door, "Oh yeah I had a message some creepy dude asked me to give you. Very fond of black and orange." he stated as felt a new level of stress behind him.

Robin approached him slowly and angrily, "What does Slade want?" he almost growled, "Are you his new apprentice? Answer me!" he demanded.

"You got some bad blood with him. Still he says you will never be rid of me." he said opening the door, "Take it as you will, i'm going home." he finished with a yawn as he stepped out side the door right as Robin pounced, only for the door behind him to slam shut followed by the sound of lightning, "Guess I ran short on time?" he joked as he looked around hearing the sounds of metal on metal behind him, "Gotta run." he knew as he ran down the hall.

"Whats going on!"

"Friends what is the happening!"

"Dudes!"

Shade grimaced, "That didn't take long." he thought as he found an emergency stairwell and descended down, picking up his pace as he heard explosions and the sound of metal tearing. "Do these guys slow down!"

"Down the stairs!" he heard Robin scream as his question answered itself, he knew he had to reach the garage as it was his only chance to get out fast enough.

He finally reached the garage as he took a second to catch his breath, "Six flights of stairs... Not... Fun..." he gasped as he looked around noticing the big blue car, and more importantly Robins R-Cycle. He approached it quickly as he turned to Cyborgs car realizing that could be a problem as he reached into his pocket grabbing a small pellet and threw straight at the front left tire. It exploded as it burst the tire, but amazingly the rest of the car was left unscathed, "Now that is built to last." he commented as he hopped on the R-Cycle quickly putting the key in the ignition as the Titans finally reached the garage.

"Stop thief!" Robin yelled as he threw an explosive disk which shot right above him.

"Now you're getting who I am!" Shade yelled back as he hit the gas bringing the Cycle to life quickly as he aimed for the garage door, "Hope this things sturdy." he silently prayed as he struck the door taking it down as he sped over it heading towards the bridge.

Robin growled in anger as flames almost seemed to sprout around him Cyborg approached from behind, "Don't worry we can catch him in..." he turned towards the T-Car with a look of sudden horror, "MY BABY!" he grabbed his cars side as tears formed in his eyes, "I just bought these tires to... I didn't even get to test em yet..." he took a deep breath as he quickly got angrier than Robin, "WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON HIM!" Cyborg mourned as Beast Boy quickly shifted into a cheetah giving chase along Starfire and Raven.

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Shade hit the road fast as he sped down the empty streets, "First find a place to ditch this bike, then i'm going to go pass out on my couch." he thought as he saw the three Titans speeding behind him, the cheetah his new concern. "Okay let's how long you can stay up past your bedtime." he stated with a devilish grin as he reached into another pocket grabbing another pellet. He took a sharp turn on the street as he dropped on the ground creating a cloud of gas as Beast Boy approached it.

"Smoke bomb. Amateur." Beast Boy thought as he took the turn breathing in a slight amount of gas suddenly feeling woozy. "What?" he thought as his vision started to fade in and out as he slowed down before turning back to human and hitting the ground, "Sleeping gas... No.t...t... Cool." he said weakly passing out.

"I shall help Beast Boy." Starfire quickly said to Raven as she moved to help him leaving Raven the last in pursuit.

Shade quickly checked the rear mirror as he saw the empathy was the last one, "Best for last? But where to go?" he thought quickly knowing an exit strategy was needed, but he didn't have one because he had been winging it to this point. He was stumped until he saw he was close to an old warehouse he used to play in, "I could easily lose her in there." he knew as he quickly pulled over at the side running to the front. The entrance had been boarded up by a few pieces of plywood, but left just enough space for him to slip through as Raven finally landed behind him.

"Got to be careful in here." Raven thought as she stared at the old building taking in its mass, but it looked unstable as she aimed a hand at the boards, "Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos." she spoke as the boards were engulfed and pulled off by black energy. She stepped inside as she noticed it was dark, very dark as she moved cautiously.

"You know." Raven eyes darted around as she tried to find the voice, but couldn't find a body in the dark as she listened, "I've been in jump for eight years, and in that time I've robbed banks, museums, gas stations, well you get the idea." it stopped as she heard the sound of echoing footsteps, "But not once until today have I ever robbed hero's. Not even when you all showed up two years ago..." the voice was filled with confidence.

"Until tonight where your confidence is going to get you thrown in jail!" she stated as she was greeted back with a laugh.

"Hahahahahahaha! Do you honestly think I've been arrested before?" she looked around as he sounded closer, "I have been in this game longer and much more effectively, yet i'm only a minor annoyance not even worth your time." he stopped for a moment, "I'm almost hurt..." he added sarcastically.

Raven was annoyed, "You're a criminal. You've been brought to our attention before, and your just a thug."

"If I was a thug i'd be robbing random homes, or better yet mugging people in dark alleys on the way to the opera." he stated coyly as Raven moved slowly around a large rack of gnomes, "I'm a thief, and an infiltrator." his voice stopped as he sounded closer than before.

"Where are you?" she asked herself quietly suddenly feeling a presence directly behind her.

"And i'm the best there is." she heard feeling a hand grab the top of her hood before moving around her taking the cloak of her in blinding speed. She quickly recovered aiming at her cloak.

"Azarath... Metrion... Zinthos!" she shouted as the area he was in exploded sending random pieces of junk to the floor.

"You missed me." he added casually as he viewed her from above on a walkway, he had to admit she actually very cute without the cloak on masking her face. Still he realized how much he was probably going to pay for taking her cloak, but hey he couldn't resist. "Give up yet!" he stated playfully as he heard a growl in response.

"If you value your life you'll give that back." she said trying her best to keep rage in check who was currently demanding his head on a pike, with bravery not far behind.

Shade shook his head at this, but he did need to start running if he was going to get home before sunrise, "Well funs fun, but I need to get going."

"You won't get out of here!" she called out as she looked around taking a step back as she quickly realized she stepped on something. She looked down to see her cloak, "Why give it back?" she shouted in curiosity, "I thought you said you're a thief?"

"I am." she heard the voice trail off from above, "But I do know when enough is enough." he paused as Raven could tell he was looking for words, "No real reason to take it anyway." he added as his voice seemed fainter. "Also you should think of putting your hood down more often, your actually very cute, especially angry." he added in flattery, as Raven was slightly taken back by this.

"No one thinks i'm cute, or pretty." she knew as she yelled, "What kind of game are you playing?!" she demanded unaware he had already left by a ladder on the upper floor, and was heading right to home ready to pass out.

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**Jesus that took a while, writers block hit and most likely i'll be checking on it for quite a few days to edit mistakes if they prove truly bad still thanks for reading, remember to comment, favorite, and follow and watch out for the next chapter _New Gear New Problems._**


	3. New Gear, New Problems

**_Okay _hit writers block then spent a few days thinking about what to write, but now I have it. Remember as always to comment, favorite, and follow and enjoy the new chap.**

**TheBeatles141: Time to hook up the defib, got your biweekly dose of Shadows right here. Also I know right, Starfire is to much of a main attraction to the team.**

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_**New Gear, New Problems**_

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_"Beep, Beep, Beep" _Shades eyes cracked open into his pillow as he groaned, he hated his phone at times. He shot a hand out grabbing it on his nightstand, slowly he dragged it back to his face.

It was a text message from Chang, "_Your order is done. I expect you to be here before noon, I have other customers who would interested." _he tossed his phone onto his bed while another groan escaped his lips. He didn't have the will to get up, or more importantly the want, but his order already costed him a small fortune, or in his case a week of work on high value targets.

Still without another word he sat up putting his legs over the side of the bed taking a moment to look around his bedroom. It was very plain in its furnishings with only a bookshelf covered with random genres of books, a dresser, his nightstand with a table side lamp, and finally his queen sized bed which he had in the center of the room with top pushed against the northern wall. His attention now turned to his discarded phone as he picked it up checking the time, "Only 9:30 in the morning..." he hated Chang so much for not letting him sleep in. He set the phone down as headed into his bathroom deciding a long shower couldn't hurt.

The hot water felt amazing running down his body making him groan in bliss, this had been long overdue, and there wasn't a chance he'd rush himself now. Actually he started to hope he wouldn't fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity he turned off the water and stepped out grabbing a towel before he walked back into his room to raid his dresser.

He gave another massive yawn stepping over a few stray gems on the ground as he grabbed his glasses, what he never told people is he always wore contacts on the job, but in actuality his eyes were very bad from a range. They had a silver frame with circular lenses that fit very well onto his face, something he had always been happy about considering the fact he liked to have a regular day now and then. He placed them on his head quickly looking into a nearby mirror, then without a second thought he collected his outfit for the day, black boxers, a pair of blue jeans, a dark blue T-Shirt, and his white hoodie with a red interior.

He ran out his bedroom door into his mess of a living with various gems and paintings scattered about, on his table was Ravens belt, his new prize, but he didn't know what it was. "Hmmm." he walked up to it examining it before lifting it up for a closer view. The runes on the back were the likes of which he had ever seen "Maybe Chang would know more?" he mumbled walking over to his kitchen grabbing his backpack. The pack had a single strap that went under his arm and over his shoulder, then met in the center of his torso, in his opinion the perfect pack, especially since he got it for free.

Still he stuffed the belt in the middle pouch, zipped it shut, and went for his front door grabbing the skateboard perched against the wall "Might as well have a little fun along the way." he mused while locking the door behind him. Taking a quick sigh he stuffed the board under his arm, marching down the fine carpeted hallway of the apartments he lived at.

The apartment complex, well in actuality it was named the Jump Life, was a very well-kept complex, and they asked little in the way of were his parents were, or where he obtained his wealth from. Although it mattered little since he paid double for his apartment, and a little extra for no questions that would occasionally be ignored when someone would still ask "Where are your parents kid?" he heard an old mans voice interrupting his train of thought.

He stopped in his tracks, and turned around seeing the an elderly man approach him "Excuse me?" he didn't know the man, but he wore a white suit jacket, tie, and gloves with a black button-up shirt, and was partly balding, but his voice spoke with a kind of familiarity that put him on edge.

"You heard me kid. Where are your parents?" the old man paused "Never seen anyone other than you leave the place." he leaned against the wall, his gaze never shifting from his face.

Shade shook his head "Do I even know you?"

"No." he answered simply before extending a hand "Names Wintergreen." he was blunt, but the name was strange.

Reluctantly he shook the mans hand "Garret..." he was careful in his response, Wintergreen sounded more like an alias than a name. Still he was examining this man, yet he didn't seem like any kind of threat, but he couldn't be sure.

"What you staring at?" his voice snapped him out of his trance while he retracted his hand, how did he notice that, he was always quick never lingering. "Still haven't answered the question Garret." he cut in quickly.

He shrugged "Away on business." he replied quickly before turning to leave, only to be stopped by hand on his shoulder.

"Ten years is a long time." his stomach dropped at that.

"How do you know that?!" he demanded, his emotions betraying him. He eyes pierced through Wintergreens, but the slight smirk on his face distracted him; that smirk was like a wolf looking towards a sheep.

The man chuckled "Let's say people have done their homework." he replied seeing the boy gain back some composure.

"I'm outta here." was all he could say turning around moving quickly for the elevator. The sooner he got away from Wintergreen the better "Got to remember to talk to the super about evicting the creepy old guy..." he murmured quietly, unaware Wintergreen was listening.

The moment he saw the doors to the elevator close Wintergreen stretched his arms "Impatient, quick on his reactions, and easy to read..." his lips went into a small grin "He reminds me to much of his father..." he stated dryly moving towards Garrets now empty apartment.

Garret walked out the front doors of the Apartments pretty quickly, his mind still racing over Wintergreen, but it mattered little "It's just one old man, what could he possibly know?" he reassured himself while dropping his skateboard on the ground. He stepped on then just as fast, took off to the right down the street towards the observatory.

* * *

**Titans Tower/ Main Ops Room- 10:30 am. Titans PoV**

The Titans were gathered on the couch, all except for Cyborg who had walked out of the elevator behind them "Powers up and running." he stated with a massive grin on his face "Although... Hard to believe one person managed just to walk in and take out our power, then ride off on your bike." he motioned towards Robin who only grunted.

"Don't forget he made me take a cat nap." Beast Boy cut in, still a little drowsy.

"And stole my belt..." Raven added, she looked strange with it missing and that annoyed her.

Robin finally spoke up "And that's why were going to find him, and take it all back." he reassured his team who were all leaning against each other exhausted on the couch "But first, we have to learn more about him." he stated seeing Beast Boys look of surprise.

"Why let's just go out and find him!" he shouted not understanding the situation.

Robin shook his head "If this was our average super-villain that would work, but he's working for Slade, and a thief." he pointed out hoping Beast Boy would catch on to his meaning, but true to his nature only looked dumbfounded. "It means he can be anywhere in the city, and we wouldn't even know it."

"That's probably why we didn't hear of him before." Cyborg cut in. He looked around seeing the varying states of confusion before explaining "I mean, were always there to grab the high-end bad guys. HIVE, Slade, Plasmus, Mumbo... the cops handle the small time, or anyone not wearing a costume without any powers." he let it sink in for a moment "There's no telling how long he's been in business, and him waltzing in here screams overconfidence."

"So what? He doesn't see us as a threat." Beast Boy added getting the nod from Cyborg "Dudes..." that was disheartening for him.

Robin looked over to Raven "Can you track him?"

"No." she stated flatly.

"Why can't you I've seen you do it before." he added seeing her frown increase.

"I can track people with objects they own. As the score goes he has something of mine, but we don't have anything belonging to him." she finished seeing the frown across his face.

Starfire finished listening only for an idea to strike "Friends why not trap the thief." she suggested.

"That could actually work..." Cyborg added quickly thinking.

"But what are we going to use?" Beast Boy added.

Raven nodded in agreement "We don't know what he steals mainly, or where he usually goes."

"But he did take your belt out of everything he could have grabbed." Robin replied.

"Is this a clue?" Starfire asked confused.

Robin shook his head "Not a clue, but a hint. Something must have caused him to go for it." it was a small lead, but it was all they had "Still keep your ears open, i'm going to set alerts for any theft, not just villains so be on alert." he turned to leave only to be stopped by Beast Boy.

"What are you going to do?" he asked curiously.

"I'm going to check the briefcase and check for any reference for a thief named Shade, with any luck we'll have enough answers to make a plan of attack." with that he walked out, focused on uncovering any information on their visitor, and more importantly, his connection to Slade.

* * *

**12:00 am. Changs Observatory**

"You know it's unlike you to make such an order, especially after your falling out with the guild." Chang stated leading shade down the hallway. He wasn't afraid to show up in civilian cloths because he had known Chang for years, and had been one of the first of his connections left after his mother died. Still this wasn't a visit it was business, and he wasn't about to discuss the guild with him.

Shade tilted his head and sighed "I'm basing the suit off their designs." he replied being lead past a dozen henchmen.

"Oh? Is that so?" Chang knew better, it may not have been the Guild armor he had made back in his day for members that would seek him out, but this was based on a very personal design.

"Are you going to ask questions, or are you going to give me a damn suit?!" he barked at Chang, his patience was thin now with the old man.

Chang couldn't help but snicker, all his boasting yet he was just a little kid who hated to be reminded of the past "Yes yes fine. Please this way." Shade was lead into a side room with the suit draped across a table, a few tools strewn across the room. The suit was a faded black with a torso section of made of some unknown material with a hood and cowl on top, the leggings were faded with the idea in mind with pouches at the sides. To add their was a kind of vest thrown over acting as extra armor, and storage, two vembraces were on the opposite ends of the arms, with the left having a small personal wrist computer.

Shade approached it running a hand over the materials letting the questions flow "What's the material?"

"Nano weave fiber." he replied quickly, Shade's eyes still viewing his prize "Sturdy, flexible, and incredibly lightweight. Its materials are special because it will repair itself if serious damage has been taken, with an addition of keeping the wearer warm down to temperatures of -10 degrees. And costs about a veritable fortune." he finished eying the boy who not even a month ago handed him a million, and literally told him to keep the change.

"Weapons?" another questions fired fast.

Chang chuckled "I know your preferences, and so I've made you an ideal system. Each vembrace has a blade hidden along the bottom, that which extended measures 6 inches, but the blades are made using phase technology." he watched Shade look at them "When deactivated they seem like normal blades and function as such, but when activated orange energy will appear along the curves signaling the phase. When they strike inorganic material they'll slice through with no problem, but hit an organic and it will only shut down the muscles or nerves were you strike.

"So... this will effectively render a target comatose if I strike them with it?" he questioned.

"Good to see you have some intelligence in that head." he replied shaking his head. "The suit also has knife holder over the left shoulder for throwing knives, and the belt has an updated delivery system for your pellets."

Shade grew curious "All the money I gave you couldn't have possibly went into that alone." he stated seeing the look of annoyance on Changs face.

"Correct. The power source took half of it."

"What is it? Xenothium?" he wondered.

Chang shook his head "Unfortunately, the power source is incompatible with phase technology, and the with the nerve stimulus in the legs it was to..." he stumbled for words "Unpredictable."

"Nerve stimulus?" that took him by surprise.

"Yes it will allow you a massive burst of speed, but the longer it is active the more your nerve endings will suffer." he saw the look of confusion as he elaborated "The power source is you, the suit will feel like a complete extension of your body, meaning when you tire it will start to power down, but when energetic never worry about power again.'

Shade took one last look at it giving a critical glare 'It's perfection Chang. I'm ready to give the Titans a run for their money." he the saw the grin on Changs face turn into curiosity while he reached into his pack revealing Ravens belt "Do you know where this is from?" he asked handing it to Chang.

"Hmmm." he looked it over for some time before handing it back "No, just like its wearer I couldn't tell you were she's from either, if you want an answer on this, then ask her." he said quickly cracking his neck. "Also you know theirs a few more things to the suit..."

"I'll figure those out as I go along. Don't wanna make it to easy." he watched him nod in agreement "Besides, I have the perfect plan to unveil it."

Chang rolled his eyes behind his goggles "And do pray tell is that?"

"Oh I won't go into specifics, but it does have to do with a ceremony for five so-called heroes." he chuckled a little "Just one more month to go until the anniversary."

* * *

_**Remember as always to critique my work, I wish to know your opinions and how it's shaping up. Also now Shade has a new suit, but multiple factors are starting to play, why is wintergreen stalking him? What do the Titans have planned? And more importantly, when will Raven get her belt back all these answers and more in the next chapter "Dog Days" an alternate take on every dog has his day.**_


	4. Dog Days

**Ok I am really psyched, my favs, follows, and reviews have gone up and this one came rather easily, lets just hope it comes as easy for my grades in school. Remember as always to comment, favorite, and follow.**

**jinx125: Thank you always good to gain a follower.**

**Xxsnow dreamxX: Thank you, I've always been very OCD with decription at times and i'm glad you enjoy the writing style.**

**TheBeatles141: That's a good guess. The answer to the anniversary though won't be solved till the end of this chapter, so keep guessing for now, and finally I own every Ac game and Elder Scrolls game, so yeah the blades are inspired, but the armor is my idea. Thanks for the confidence boost :)**

**laurenrulez1: Don't worry I'm always working.**

**HuggableMonsters: Thank you. :)**

* * *

_**Dog Day's**_

* * *

_Shades eyes slowly but painfully opened, his mind was a mess his head ringing like he got hit by a truck. His vision was blurry, and along his torso he could feel warm blood flowing out of his wounds. He struggled to move only to realize he was tied to a tree, the forest around him darkened every so slightly as his memory surged back at what had transpired._

_"Did you really think you could get away with murder?" his eyes weakly looked up at the man, his uniform resembled ceremonial robes, but true to the nature of the guild they were midnight black, and hid the coward in the dark._

_He took a deep breath in, pain racked his body "If you were to untie me... I'll make sure you die now traitor..." the man darted forward throwing a punch that easily connected to Shades jaw, almost breaking it while a mist of blood went out._

_"Don't you dare speak to your Guild Master as such!" he hissed earning a weak chuckle from the 11 year old "Why are you laughing? Not even you would laugh at your own funeral." he stated matter of factly, making the chuckle turn to a laugh._

_"Your no leader of mine, and you better pray... They hit my heart or else..." it hurt to talk, but he had to say it "Nothing will stop me from killing you." he was deadly serious, enough to make the man wince, but the man wasn't scared. He watched him turn and walk back to the shadows, the sound of bow strings being drawn broke the silence; he knew what was coming now, and there was nothing he could do to stop it._

_He heard someone new clear his voice from the shadows in front of him "Garret W. Traynor you are sentenced to death for the murder of your mentor, the attempted murder of our Guild Master, and the theft of guild funds." the man gave a sigh at the end of the charges "Ready."_

_His eyes shot forward, his vision still blurred, but he could make out the tips of three arrows, one for each of his "crimes..." but hearing him repeat these lies which they all believed hurt him worse than any pain they could inflict._

_"Aim..." time almost halted "Fire!" his eyes slammed shut, he could hear the arrows cut through the air, followed by the sharp stings of pain-_

* * *

"Are you ok!" the yelling woke him.

"Aghhh!" he jumped to the side quickly flapping his arms, while the rest of his body plummeted to the ground, the tree branch above him shook slightly from the sudden shift in weight while his glasses were in front of him, the book he had purchased early this morning directly under him.

He looked up to see Beast Boy of all people standing in front of him, a look of genuine concern on his face "Are you ok?' his question repeated, slightly annoying Garret.

Garret was wearing his usual white hoodie, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of vans, and finally his pack which was behind his back "Why wouldn't I be... I mean, I just got spooked out of a tree and hit the ground, but otherwise I'm peachy?!" he stated sarcastically. He was short with him, but to be fair after those kind of dreams he usually was pissed at anything close to him. He propped himself up, finally standing up tall, his hood had fallen back behind his head showing his light black hair which cascaded down his forehead and sides.

Beast Boy quickly took a hint, but he still decided to press "Well you were starting to writhe up their like you were in pain."

"It was nothing." he replied casually picking up his glasses near Beast Boys feet while the green-skinned teen moved around behind him eying his book.

"Azarath, myth, legend, or fact." Garrets eyes shot open hearing him read the title. He had purchased the book this morning after finding similar style letters on the spine, the clerk had explained the only other person to show interest in the book had been none other than Raven herself, which guaranteed a buy.

He quickly spun around and ripped the book from Beast Boys hands "That's mine." he stated seeing the look of confusion over the green teens face.

"What's your problem dude?" BB replied kind of offended "All I did was ask if your ok?"

Reason finally won out, Garret quickly shook his head "Sorry... I don't always wake up in the best moods." he replied taking a deep breath.

"So..." he trailed off.

Garret sighed "Well he's hopeless for conversations. Might as well throw him a bone..." he thought before speaking up "My names Garret."

That caught him off guard "What? Oh- I'm Beast Boy!" he stated proudly seeing the uncaring look on Garrets face "Of the Teen Titans." it didn't impress him. "I live in the giant Tower, and fight crime." he got a yawn in response to this.

"Sounds fascinating..." he stated sarcastically, unfortunately Beast Boy seemed unable to comprehend his tone.

"Why were you up in a tree?" he inquired.

Garret raised an eyebrow at this, giving a quick smirk he replied "Just enjoying my Saturday."

"But why were you up in a tree?"

"Anyone ever tell you, you ask to many questions." he answered seeing the puzzlement on his face "If you must know, well I like to stay elevated, a side effect of my job." he leaned against the tree pulling his pack back over his shoulder, and started to stuff the book back in.

Beast suddenly got curious "You have a job?"

He cursed himself for not thinking clearly "Yeah, I'm a bit of a freelance." he stated watching puzzlement become Beast Boys default facial expression.

Beast Boy pursed his lips trying to give his response some thought "Does that mean your like a mercenary or something." he joked.

"Hmm, clever." he thought looking back towards Beast Boy "What gave you the idea I'm a merc?"

"Ahh..." he didn't think he'd respond to that "Doesn't freelance mean like mercenaries usually, or something similar?" he asked not wanting to look utterly clueless to him.

Garret slung the pack back over his shoulder "Yes and no. Mercenaries are self-employed soldiers or security, I'm neither." he let it sink in "I'm more of a... consultant, or I could be considered a procurement specialist of a kind." a funny way to put it since he walked the H.I.V.E students through six different heists, all the while he was at home sitting around.

"Oh. Still you wanna do something?" he was still bored, and he wanted to do something after being ignored at the tower.

Garret raised an eye in confusion "Doesn't he know I'm about to make a laughing-stock out of his team in just a week?" he played around with idea in his head when realization hit 'Oh yeah, he doesn't know I am Shade, but I could use this to learn strengths and weaknesses.' it sounded like a good idea. "Fuck it, might as well." he concluded taking a quick breath "Might as well, I don't have anything else I need to do." he replied finally earning a grin from Beast Boy.

"Awesome." he stated quickly before calming down a few steps "So what do you want to do?"

"Whatever I guess, you lead i'll follow." he stated dryly.

Beast Boy quick to talking got ahead of him by a few feet "In the mood for some pizza?" he asked already heading towards the pizza joint, Garret following behind with a quiet sigh.

"Why not I could use some pepper-" he was cut off by Beast Boy.

"Dude how can you eat meat?!" he stated shocked

He sighed "Oh god he's a vegan... Strangely makes a lot of sense." he thought quickly responding now to his complaint "I take it you'd prefer the vegetarian style pizza?" he asked.

"Meat is so gross..." he droned on getting a shrug from Garret in reply.

"Then let's just get a Vegetarian, not really any difference to me." to be fair he had eaten far worse things in his life, and vegetarian style pizza was nothing horrible, and he kind of liked picking one up on his off days.

They walked out of the park quickly making the transition of grass to pavement while cars passed by in front of them. Their was silent chatter passing by them as they made their way around the occasional person walking down the street.

"So where do you live around here?" Beast Boy asked trying to make a little small talk to pass the time.

Garret answered quickly "Apartments with my parents." he replied nonchalantly.

"What do your parents do?" he asked curiously.

"My mom works at a diner near the edge of the city, and my dad is a magician of a kind." he lied hoping to satisfy the curious teen.

Beast Boy pursed his lips while continued down the sidewalk "So your Dad does magic tricks?" it was a little strange to hear this.

"Yeah he's good at his vanishing acts... not even I know where he is." he finished quietly, although Beast Boy didn't hear it as he slammed into his back. "Why'd you stop?" Garret asked a bit annoyed while Beast Boy pointed at the two blondes maybe twenty feet away at a table. He placed hand to his forehead "They are way out of your league dude, choose something realistic." he quickly stated.

Beast Boy shook his head "Obviously you've never seen skill in action before." he quickly patted his hair down "Watch and learn kid at how a pro does it." he stated with a smirk when a sudden idea came to mind "You might want to take notes man." he finished walking towards the two girls leaving head shaking Garret behind.

Both had long blonde hair with one appeared in her teens, the appeared to be in her later teens, with one wearing a blue sweater, and the other a purple sweater with a white v neck. Beast Boy approached with his confidence high "Hey Ladies wanna go for a ride on my moped?" he asked as the two blondes stared back at him.

"And just like that, the ship has sunk." Garret thought listening.

The blue sweater girl answered "You own a moped?" she asked curiously.

"No..." he began cracking his knuckles "But I'm saving up." Garret shook his head.

"And they say I have an ego..." he thought watching Beast Boys hand set down on their pizza causing him to slip and knock their pitcher of soda onto his head. They both got up giggling before walking off to some woman and her dog, but not before giving Garret a wink. He quickly caught up to Beast Boy who busy pulling the pitcher of his head, which was drenched with cola making it even harder to reset laughing at him "So when do I start taking notes about skill?" he mused while Beast Boy shook his head trying to dry off.

"That was just a flop." he defended before looking around for the two "Ahhh where did they go?" he asked wiping his eyes.

Garret jerked his thumb behind them "Short and furry over there." he stated. Beast Boy quickly spotted the two affectionately cuddle up to a dog. 'In the battle of man vs. dog it's safe to say it's a loss for us today." he finished seeing the jealousy in Beast Boys eyes.

"Lucky dog, I sure wish I was a-" a light bulb seemed to go on over his head before he smacked his forehead "Oh yeah.' he quickly stated before morphing into a little green lap dog with a few spots.

Garret steeped in front of him "This is going to end badly." he warned, but Beast Boy went around him 'Oh well, guess you can't teach a dog new tricks." he thought while Beast Boy approached the girls hugging the brown furry dog.

"Why is that dog green?" the one in the blue sweater asked looking to her friend.

"And why does he smell like old pizza?" her friend followed by looking to her for any kind of answer, something seemed to spark off.

"Ewwww!' they both replied in unison turning to Beast Boy with sudden animosity in their eyes.

The girl in blue went first "Shoo, get away. Smelly dog!" she waved her hand for him to beat it, defeat loomed over his head when finally Garret intervened.

"Why are you insulting my dog?!" he asked them acting shocked, both quickly stared in confusion.

"Why is your dog such a freak?" the girl in purple responded a little irritated.

Garret thought quickly as he settled on a decent lie "He is an extremely rare breed of dog called a... Despratarian!" he replied making it seem important while Beast Boy shot him a look "Play along." he shot back with his glance, a look of realization suddenly washed over the confusion. Taking the cue Beast Boy sat down, following with a quick bark of happiness while Garret pet his head "He is also a purebred, only tell able by the aroma of old pizza." he let on seeing the girls eye's light up in wonder.

"Where do you get a dog like that?" the one in blue answered, Garret quickly took a knee to their level as he went on "You see his breed originated from the rainforest, a proud breed at that, but not the brightest." Beast Boy gave out a quiet whimper of resentment at that "A dog like this can't normally be bought, but I was in Brazil not to long ago when I visited the forest." he was making this up well, but he started to doubt these girls intelligence.

"So you found him in the jungle?" he didn't know which one asked, but he answered.

He shook his head "No, but he did find me. I was roaming around seeing the sights when I had wandered to far off a trail, and I got myself well and truly lost in that jungle. I had to have wandered aimlessly for a few days before this little guy found me and led me out." he added seeing the looks of amazement on their faces.

"Wow what's his name?" the one in blue asked.

"Beast." he stated quickly, Beast Boy quickly wagged his tail when the girls started to pet him.

The girl in purple sighed "I guess he is kind of cute when you get down to it." rubbing him gently behind the ears as a phone went of in her friend's pocket, she quickly pulled it out.

"Mom wants us home." she stated a little saddened that she couldn't pet the rare dog anymore.

"Ok." she turned to Beast Boy "See you cutie." watching the dog wag his tail, and quickly adding a quick bark of affection. She then turned to Garret "See you around to, maybe next time we could grab something and talk a little." he nodded politely knowing he'd probably never talk to them again.

"Come on Beast, let's go for a quick run in the park." he added, Beast Boy quickly taking a hint and dashing ahead. "Ladies." he excused himself before chasing after Beast Boy, who was running happily, and obviously ahead at full speed.

Now Garret would say he's pretty fast, but Beast Boy was much faster in dog form, especially when he didn't seem to be getting tired despite running for a solid five minutes passing tree's and bushes further into the park. Annoyed Garret planted his feet into the ground taking a deep breath "Beast Boy!" he yelled behind the dog quickly catching his attention while he rammed dead on into another green dog who bursted from the bushes, almost knocking Beast Boy out by the looks of things.

"Well that's-" he would have stated weird if he didn't see a red UFO of all things appear above them "Well so much for a normal day..." he thought before he watched a beam shoot down and zap Beast Boy who was still in dog form. He shook himself out of surprise rushing for Beast Boy who suddenly vanished in the beam leaving singed black grass beneath him, and his communicator. He turned to see the other green dog run off in relief, or at least that's what it seemed to him "Well, might as well grab the communicator." he suggested to himself really. "This is even stranger than the briefcase I found in my living room last week." he thought remembering the payment on his coffee table, and the note hat simply stated whoever put it there would be in touch.

He quickly approached taking only a moment to reflect on the fact he had watched its owner vanish not even a minute earlier, but deciding in his line of work that already mattered little, he picked it up. "Hey what do you think you're doing?!" that spooked him as he almost dropped the communicator. He turned around seeing the Titans, Cyborg was directly in front of him, the look of anger on his face.

"Now I know this looks bad..." Garret began seeing that they needed an explanation.

"It does when your holding our teammates communicator near some singed grass." Cyborg retorted.

Garret chuckled softly "Would you believe me I told you there was a big red Ufo?" he suggested seeing the looks spread across their faces. "Let me guess. You came here looking for it?" he asked to none of them in particular.

"Yes we did, now explain why you were just attempting to steal Beast Boys communicator." Robin demanded getting into his face, frustration etched in.

"You got issues dude." Garret stated plainly to Robin who looked a little angrier.

Robin fumed "Where-" he didn't let him continue.

"To be fair you got into my face, and your jumping to conclusions." he pointed out seeing it broke through to Raven and Starfire who was behind, and Cyborg still at Robins side, but the Boy Wonder still looked ticked. "I was simply retrieving it to bring back to your tower, do my good deed of the month." he let on.

Raven spoke up "And the truth?" she asked with look that told him she knew he was lying.

"Clever, an empath..." this would be tricky, he'd actually come across empaths in the past, granted they didn't have powers, but lying was next to impossible if you weren't taught by the greatest liars on earth how to fool one. "Well to be quite honest." he began believing the lie himself, and convincing himself it was the truth "My little brother absolutely loves you guys and I thought I'd get him a small souvenir I'd found lying around. I figured you had dozens of these things back at home." he finished seeing Ravens own gaze.

"Your good." she stated, although she didn't truly mean his story checked out, but she couldn't tell.

Garret smirked "Now, if you do, umpghhh!" he got forced to the ground as he felt something bash him from behind taking off his pack. "What the hell.' he muttered looking up to see the green dog, his pack in its mouth.

"Yo Beast dude." Cyborg stated with a sigh of relief at seeing his friend. "You know this guy was trying to steal your communicator." he added jerking a thumb towards Garret who scoffed at his accusation.

"You do know.." wait, they didn't know that wasn't Beast Boy "This could be fun." he thought getting a very noticeable grin on his face.

Robin noticed this fast "Know what?" he asked, well it sounded more like a demand to finish.

"Me and Beast Boy were hanging out not to long ago." he added seeing the disbelief on their accumulated faces.

"Yeah right.' he turned to the dog who was now sniffing at the grass "Beast dude, can you believe this guy?" Cyborg added suddenly curious "Why haven't you stopped being a dog?" the dog barked before chasing its tail.

Robin spoke up now "Alright Beast Boy enough foolin around, we got work to do." he sweat dropped at seeing the dog had remained unchanging.

"Friend why will you not resume human form?" Starfire asked.

"Maybe he can't?" Cyborg suggested.

Raven spoke next "Maybe." the dog dropped Garrets pack and quickly tackled her to the ground starting to lick her face "Don't make me send you to another dimension." she warned. Garret couldn't help a quick laugh at the situation earning a glare from Raven as the dog jumped off "What's so funny?" she asked seriously.

"Nothing, just never knew you had such a way with animals." that earned a chuckle from Cyborg, but Raven only glared.

"Still let me run a scan." Cyborg held out his arm starting to scan "That's strange." he went on while the dog noticing a car speeding down the lane behind them took off, but not before grabbing Garrets backpack in his jaws once again.

"Hey!" Garret shouted seeing the dog run off."

"Yeah. Defiantly something wrong with him." he added just before the Titans gave chase, but not without Garret close behind.

That pack had a lot of important items in it, and he wasn't about to lose it to a random dog, or let the Titans get there hands on it and ruin everything he had planned. Luckily it was only a quick sprint before they reached the car, its rear bumper torn off, and its owner sobbing behind it.

"Where did he go?" Robin asked.

"And what did he do to that bumper?" Raven added.

Garret shrugged at that "Never met a dog that could actually catch the car." he mused, Robin quickly turned around.

"Why are you still here?" he asked.

"Well if you hadn't noticed he kind of took my pack, and that is very important to me." he finished not wanting to sound to suspicious. "So get ready to have me tag along for this one, and yes I can keep up." he added seeing the annoyance across Robins face.

He shook his head "It's best for civilians not to get involved." he warned.

Garret felt offended by that "Trust me when I say this, This civilian." he pointed towards himself "Will go where he wants, unless you're going to stop me." he challenged seeing the frustration build on Robins face.

"Fine just stay out-of-the-way." he added before turning to his team "Spread out and find him." he ordered with everyone taking off in separate directions, not really wanting to head off on his own for once he took off after Cyborg who he reasoned would be far easier to follow, and as far as he cold tell didn't have any kind of problem with him. Well he didn't have one yet.

* * *

Garret had done many things over his life, but he had to admit chasing after this dog was probably the most tedious thing he had ever done in his entire life, and with Cyborg now on a personal quest for revenge since he was used as a makeshift fire hydrant the task grew more repetitive. Evening had rapidly approached and now was turning to night, their was no sign of his pack, but he didn't put it past this thing to have eaten it, because at this point there wasn't a chance in hell it was from earth.

He stopped behind Cyborg who was quickly taking a breather "See where he went?" he asked taking his own breath.

Cyborg almost jumped, he'd forgotten this kid had followed him across the city 'No, and why are you still here?" he asked taking another breath.

"Well, I'm not going to leave my pack in that dogs hands... or should I say paws?" he added.

"What's so important about it?" Cyborg inquired, he was curious that this backpack could send this kid across town following Beast Boy who was currently out of his mind.

Garret shrugged "Sentimental value." he lied seeing Cyborg nod at this.

"Cyborg come in." Robins voice played from his communicator.

"So the fearless leader calls in?" he smiled getting a shrug from Cyborg.

Cyborg lifted it to his face "I'm here, you find him."

"He went down an alley on main." Robin replied quickly.

"We'll be their in a few minutes." he answered only to get a quick reply back.

"What do you mean we?"

"That kid from earlier in the white hoodies been following me all day after Beast Boy." he started, seeing Garret start to dart towards main "He's got a head start on me. Be there soon." he finished turning off his communicator and taking off after Garret.

Garret ran fast down the sidewalk, he was so close to this dog and he wasn't about to give up now. Quickly cutting down third he found the other Titans assembled in front of the alleyway, Robin looked ticked at seeing him while he heard the heavy footsteps of Cyborg behind him. "Is he still there?" he asked Robin who shook his head.

"Didn't I say we'd handle it." he stated dryly.

"Didn't I say I was going after this dog as well?" he reiterated starting to get a rise out of the Boy Wonder.

Robin scowled "Well-" he was cut off.

"Friend, do we not have Beast Boy to get to?" Starfire asked confused that he was focused on arguing with Garret.

He groaned "Dog boy confused me with a fire hydrant."

Both teens nodded in agreement, but Garret was only in this until he recovered his pack, he didn't owe them anything and their leader sure as hell wanted him gone which was fine by him. They rushed down the alleyway, the dog was in a trash can when it turned to face the teens who were ready to pounce 'Nowhere left to run Fido." Garret thought taking a step forward.

She quickly sniffed the air "What is that smell?" suddenly aware of the foul odor emanating off Cyborg.

He groaned "Dog boy confused me with a fire hydrant." he eyed the dog dangerously, taking a step forward himself when it suddenly regurgitated a partially digested backpack.

"Agh!" they all shrieked at once followed by the dog extending its tongue all the way to Ravens face getting a good lick before finally jumping out of the trash can, and through a sewer grate, which the dog shifted through.

The Titans all walked to the grate, except Garret who quickly recovered his pack, he wasn't about to go run off and play hero, and he learned all he needed for one day. "Luckily the acids didn't eat all the way through." he thought hopefully. He picked up the slobbery mess and quickly, but very quietly exited the alleyway taking down the street. They wouldn't miss him, and probably would be glad he was gone "Today was a good waste of time, didn't get much in the way of finding out more about Azarath, and whatever treasures it may hold. Followed by having to deal with the Titans all day while in disguise." he thought glumly, but it didn't matter to much.

He was ready now, next week would be the formal celebration of when the titans had been founded, and the mayor would present with a key to the city, well he'd be presenting him with the key when he stole it.

But he did know one other thing that still troubled him, whoever hired him from the Tower job knew who he was, and where he lived. But the fact he had said he'd be in touch had him all the more spooked. "What am I doing, I've got myself overworked." he stopped on the corner of third before counting off things on his hand "A mystery employer, a celebration to wreck, trying to find valuable treasures from a place that may or may not exist. My god I need a vacation after next week." he realized before bolting back to his apartment, ready for whatever came next.

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**Now this wasn't rushed something I'm trying to show here is Garret/Shade only owes any kind of allegiance to himself, and the beginning is simply giving a taste of what has shaped him. Still im pumped for the next chapter "_The Key to success" _as always I thank you for reading, and remember to leave your reviews, I like to get feedback on this so I know what's going right.**


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